Status: 06.12.2022 09:10 a.m
She was considered a Silicon Valley icon and tech pioneer, but then came the crash: Former blood test entrepreneur Holmes was sentenced to eleven years in prison for fraud against investors. Now she’s appealing.
Former startup star Elizabeth Holmes is appealing her 11-year sentence in the Theranos fraud trial. This was announced by an appeals court in California. Holmes and her lawyers have until March 3 to submit briefs and court documents.
In January, a grand jury found the 38-year-old guilty of four counts of investor fraud. US District Judge Edward Davila sentenced him to 11 years in prison in mid-November. The court had decided on a lower sentence than the 15 years demanded by the public prosecutor. However, the defense had pleaded for a maximum of one and a half years in prison.
Holmes does not have to start his sentence before April 27 next year. She is currently pregnant. Her lawyers had already announced after the verdict that they wanted to appeal.
Holmes is said to have deceived investors
Holmes is accused of defrauding investors and robbing hundreds of millions of dollars as CEO of Theranos. She allegedly falsely convinced investors that Theranos had developed a revolutionary blood testing device. With the case, she became a symbol of the culture of unabashed self-promotion in Silicon Valley.
Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 when he was just 19 years old. The company advertised with an outstanding technology for particularly fast, effective and inexpensive blood tests. Holmes was celebrated as a tech pioneer and won not only financially strong investors but also prominent supporters.
Penalties for former business partners are still pending
Holmes herself became a billionaire. Reports from the “Wall Street Journal” finally revealed that the technology does not work at all. The entrepreneur denied having cheated investors and said she believed in the potential of her technology.
She also blamed the scandal on her ex-boyfriend and former business partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was also found guilty of cheating in July. His sentence is still pending.